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By Trend

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Colombo on Sunday to hold bilateral talks with Sri Lanka's top leadership and attend the seven-nation BIMSTEC summit.

This is his first visit to the island nation since India extended an economic relief package to bail Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.

"Arrived in Colombo for bilateral visit and BIMSTEC meeting. Look forward to my discussions over the next two days," he tweeted.

Mr Jaishankar arrived here after concluding his visit to the Maldives during which he held discussions with the country's top leadership on wide ranging issues related to bilateral cooperation.

The minister's visit to Sri Lanka and the Maldives are part of his five-day two-nation tour to the two key maritime neighbours of India to explore the possibilities of further expansion of bilateral engagements.

Although Mr Jaishankar's Colombo visit is primarily for the BIMSTEC engagements, officials said he would be taking part in all important bilateral talks with the Sri Lankan leaders.

Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

The summit is being hosted by Sri Lanka in its capacity as the chair of the grouping BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

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